Apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars



Jan. 23, 1968 D. H. HATHORN ET AL 3,365,078

APPARATUS TO FACILITATE THE COUPLING OF RAILWAY CARS Filed Jan. 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 AXIS OF COUPLER COINCIDES WITH AXIS 0F SILL- 3 j 1: :L k;

2 90 L5 6 Q4 L---\-- P L m a l0 CENTER LINE OF CURVED PORTION OF TRACK I In AXIS 0F BOGIE ANGULARLY DISPLACED RELATIVELY T0 AXIS 0F SlLL 3b l l AXIS 0F SILL AXIS 0F COUPLER ANGULARLY DISPLACED RELATIVELY T0 AXIS OF SI AND MOVED CLOSER T0 CENTER LINE AC CENTER LINE OFTRACK 34 22 26 I ll 34 ilk L c (:0 coco 37 (5321; 3 i

INVENTORS DON H. HATHORN DRUM E. SEAY 5 I t I 5 M g BY M i d ATTORNEYS 3,365,078 APPARATUS TO FACILITATE THE COUPLING OF RAILWAY CARS Filed Jan. 11, 1966 Jan. 23, 1968 D. H. HATHORN E AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 INVENTORS DON H. HATHORN DRUM E. SEAY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,365,078 APPARATUS T0 FAQILITATE THE COUPLING 0F RAILWAY CARS Don H. Hathorn and Drum E. Seay, Duncan, Okla, assignors to Hailiburton Company, Duncan, Okla, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 520,004 8 Claims. (Cl. 213-15) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE Railway coupling apparatus including movement inducing means connected with a railway truck and movement transmitting means providing an operable connection between the movement inducing means and a coupling bar.

The movement inducing means includes arm means and pivot means for the arm means independent of the truck pivot and coupling pivot. First linkage means extend between the truck and the arm means and serve to cause the arm means to pivot about its pivot mount in response to turning or pivotable movement of the railway truck.

The movement transmitting means includes second linkage means which interconnect the arm means with the coupling bar so as to cause the coupling bar to pivot about its pivot mount in response to pivotable movement of the arm means.

General background and objects of invention This invention relates to an apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars. In particular it relates to a device specifically intended to facilitate automatic coupling of railway cars on curved track sections.

Modern day railway couplings are designed to enable automatic coupling of railway car drawbars, i.e. couplers, in response to convergence of cars along a truckway.

Although some railway cars have been provided with devices which tend to hold a coupler in centered alignment with the vertical median plane of a railway car, in an effort to facilitate coupling, such devices often impede coupling where curved track sections are encountered.

It was early known to provide a parallelogram type linkage between a railway car truck frame and a coupling bar. This device served to turn the coupling bar to the same extent that the truck, i.e. bogie, was turned in respouse to track curvature.

Such parallelogram devices have employed parrallel springs to transmit force from a railway truck to a coupling tongue. Such springs, of course, are vulnerable to sagging and tend to produce a sluggish response. When sagging occurs, there is always the undesirable possibility of the coil spring becoming entangled in gear underneath the car. Further, in modern railway cars the coupling bar is often mounted on the end of a railway car at a considerable longitudinal distance from the nearest car truck. With this modern day structure, the parallelogram arrangement does not account for the extension of track curvatu e beyond a railway truck to the location of the coupling bar. In short, the parallelogram arrange ment does not turn the coupling bar to a sufiicient extent to account for this curvature extension beyond the truck.

Additional complications are provided by railway car coupling mechanisms which of necessity incorporate highly complex shock absorbing mechanisms. The incorporation of these mechanisms complicate to a coniderable degree the provision of a mechanism for main taining a coupling bar in sufiicient proximity to the center 3,365,078 Patented Jan. 23, 1968 line of a curved section of track to enable automatic coupling to take place.

In recognition of the need for an improved device to facilitate automatic railway car coupling, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device which substantially obviates problems of the type associated with the prior art devices above noted.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide such an apparatus which causes a coupling bar to rotate about its pivot axis in response to, but to a greater extent than, the pivotable movement of an immediately adjacent wheel supporting truck.

It is likewise an object of the invention to provide such an apparatus which affords a uniquely positive, track centering response and which does not sag during its operation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such an apparatus which is uniquely simple in structure but effective and rugged in operation.

In accomplishing the foregoing objective, there is presented through this invention an apparatus comprising railway car means, track engaging wheel means (i.e. a railway car truck and the wheels mounted on it), and first pivot means mounting the wheel means on the underside of the railway car means. Coupling means at one end of the railway car means is adapted to couplingly engage another railway car. Second pivot means mounts the coupling means on the railway car means with the second pivot means and the first pivot means having generally coplanar pivot axes and with the second pivot means being displaced longitudinally on the first pivot means toward the said one end of the railway car means.

Connecting means interconnect the wheel means and the coupling means to cause the coupling means to rotate about the second pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of the wheel means about the first pivot means. As a result, when the railway car means is on a curved railway track which extends from the wheel means at least to the coupling means, the coupling means will be maintained within sufiicient proximity to the coupling axis of the track means to enable the coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car. The connecting means includes movement accelerating means connected with the wheel means and movement transmitting means connecting the movement accelerating means with the coupling means of the apparatus.

An independent and especially significant facet of the invention involves a unique two-stage motion transmitting mechanism interconnecting a railway car truck and a coupling bar. This mechanism is characterized by arm means mounted for pivotable movement independent of the truck and the coupling bar. First linkage means extend between the truck, i.e., wheel means of the railway car, and the pivoted arm means and is adapted to cause the arm means to rotate in response to pivotable movement of the truck. Second linkage means interconnect the arm means with the coupling bar to cause the coupling bar to rotate about its pivot mounting in response to pivotable movement of the arm means.

In describing the invention, reference will be made to a preferred embodiment shown in the illustrated drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 schematically illustrates in plan view the relationship between a railway truck and adjacent coupling bar of a conventional railway car disposed on a curved track section;

FIGURE 2 schematically illustrates in plan view the relationship between the truck and adjacent coupling bar of a railway car augmented by the present invention so as to facilitate coupling on a curved track;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the FIGURE 2 representation showing, in greater detail, structural aspects of connecting means which serve to interconnect a railway car truck and a coupling bar;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation view of the FIGURE 3 assembly showing additional structural detail including a railway car sill and railway car bed as well as a shock absorbing, coupling bar;

FIGURE is a schematic, enlarged transverse sectional view of a portion of the FIGURE 4 assembly which serves to accelerate the movement of the railway truck, which accelerating mechanism is viewed along the section line 55 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a still further enlarged, fragmentary, transverse, sectional view of a cross arm pivotably connected to the sill of the FIGURE 4 railway car as viewed along the section line 66 of FIGURE 5.

The coupling problem FIGURE 1 schematically represents the relationship between a conventional truck 1 and a draft mechanism 2 of a railway car when this car is disposed on a curved section 3 of track.

Before describing this relationship, it will be appropriate to consider certain structural details shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5. For example, the truck 1 is adapted to turn about the pivot axis in of a conventional pivot mounting 1b. Pivot mounting 1b comprises first pivot means pivotably securing the truck, i.e. railway wheel means 1, to the underside of the railway car.

Mechanism 2 may comprise any of several commercially utilized shock absorbing draft mechanisms. It is particularly contemplated that this invention will be utilized in connection with draft mechanisms having a relatively long coupling bar which is supported on a pivot pin for lateral pivotable movement. The pivot pin may be secured to a housing which is mounted to move longitudinally so as to absorb buff and draft shocks imposed on the mechanism 2 and to restore the housing to a neutral position. A representative indication of the general type of shock absorbing mechanism employed in modern draft mechanisms is disclosed in Blake Patents 2,944,681 and 3,207,324. In this connection however it should be noted that the present invention has its greatest significance when employed in connection with draft mechanisms having coupling bars which are considerably longer and capable of greater lateral movement than the coupling bars shown in the aforementioned Blake patents. Such elongated coupling bars are often found, for example, on piggy-back flat cars employed to transport highway truck trailers.

Draft mechanism 2 may comprise a pivotably mounted draw bar or coupler 6. In a conventional fashion, coupler 6 may be pivotably mounted on a housing 7 of the general type shown schematically in FIGURES 4 and 5. Such a housing 7 may be mounted within a railway car sill 8, which is disposed beneath a car floor 8a, in association with a shock absorbing structure as above discussed. This shock absorbing structure allows limited, longitudinal shock absorbing and restoring movement of the housing 7. The pivot connection between the housing 7 and the coupler 6 may comprise a pivot pin having a pivot axis a generally disposed in the median car lane 5, which is parallel to the pivot axis In, of the railway truck 1. In order to avoid obscuring the schematic presentation in FIGURE 1 of the relationship between the coupler 6, the truck 1, and the track 3, the shock absorbing mechanism has been omitted from FIGURE 1. For reference to structural details of the shock absorbing structure of the draft mechanism 2, reference may be made to the aforesaid Blake patents. However, it will be understood that these couplings have been identified only in order to show representative types of shock absorbing devices which are employed on railway cars and that a wide variety of other couplings may be utilized in the practice of the invention.

As shown in FIGURE 1 the median vertical plane 4 of the railway track 1 has been rotated to a position of inclination with respect to the vertical median plane 5 of its associated railway car. However, the coupling bar 6 has remained in centered alignment with the vertical median plane 5 of the car.

The track 3, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, continues in its curvature to the left from the track 1 to and beyond the coupling extremity 6a of the coupling bar 6. As a result of this continuation of curvature, the coupling center of the coupling bar end 6a is displaced from the curved center line 19 of the track 3.

The lateral displacement of the coupling extremity 6a, which occurs with conventional railway equipment, is sufiicient on many curved track sites to make automatic coupling of the bar 6 with the coupling mechanism of another railway car impossible. In many instances the lateral displacement of the coupling bar 6 is suflicient to enable the extremity 6a of the coupling bar to bypass the coupling bar of another railway car and engage and damage items such as braking fluid conduits which are mounted laterally of, but near, the coupling bar.

With this in mind it will be apparent that it is desirable for the coupling bar to be maintained within a position where automatic coupling with another car will take place. This requires that the extremity 6a of the coupling bar be maintained within an automatic coupling range which will enable the coupling bar to engage and interlock the coupling bar of another railway car in response to mere convergence of the two railway cars. This coupling range will entail a few inches of lateral displacement of the centeriine of the coupling portions of the cars.

Apparatus of the present invention FIGURES 3 through 6 illustrate structural details of the apparatus of the present invention which is designed to bring the coupling bar end 6a shown in FIGURE 1 within an allowable tolerance of the curved center line 10 so as to allow automatic car coupling.

The principal components of the coupling facilitating apparatus are schematically shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. These components include an arm 11 supported on the underside of a railway car by third pivot means, i.e. a pivot connection 12 having a pivot axis 12a. Pivot axis 12a is parallel to and generally coplanar with pivot axis 9a and pivot axis In. In addition, when the coupling bar 6 is in its free or unstressed position, i.e. a position of rest as determined by the shock absorbing mechanism of the coupling 2, the pivot axis 9a is generally coaxial with the axis 12a.

First linkage means 13 interconnect the railway wheel supporting truck 1, i.e. wheel means 1, and the arm 11.

This first linkage means comprises a pair of solid metallic rods 14 and 15. When the arm 11 is disposed as shown in FIGURE 3 so as to be perpendicular to the median car plane 5 with the coupling bar 6 generally aligned with this plane, rods 14 and 15 are symmetrically disposed with respect to the plane, i.e. they bear a coplanar and mutual, mirror image relationship.

Each of the rods 14 and 15 is secured to a portion of the truck body 1 by securing means comprising a clevis and eye connection and a connecting link. For example, the rod 14 is connected at its end adjacent the truck body 1 with a clevis and eye connection 16. Clevis and eye connection 16 in turn is connected as for example by welding, to a connecting link 16a. Link 16a is secured to truck 1. Similarly rod 15 is connected to a side of the truck 1 opposite to the truck side connected with the rod 14- by a clevis and eye connection 17 and a connecting link 17a.

Connecting links 16a and 17a are identical and are mounted in conventional vertically extending passages often found in railway truck bodies. For example, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 with reference to connecting link 17a, this connecting link is fabricated from heavy sheet metal and has a pair of coplanar, web-like spaced fingers 17b and 17c. Finger 170 is disposed in an aperture 1c in truck body 1 while web 171') is welded to the clevis and eye connection 17. The tops of webs 17b and 17c may be interconnected by an integral portion of sheet metal while the bottoms of the Webs may be interconnected by a welded insert so as to form a generally rectangular, ring-like securing member. This securing arrangement is uniquely advantageous in that it takes advantage of existing apertured portions often found in railway truck bodies.

A compression spring coupling 18 serves to connect the other end of the rod 14 to one side of the arm 11. Coupling 18 comprises a coil spring 19, an abutment 20 engaging the left end of the spring 19, as shown in FIGURE 3, and a rod section 21 passing through the spring 19 from the abutment 20 and slidably through an aperture 22 in the arm 11 to a clevis and eye connection 23. Clevis and eye connection 23 serves to interconnect the rod 21 with the rod 14.

A mounting base 24 engages the coupling 18 on the outer side of the arm 11, i.e. the side facing away from the truck 1. Mounting base 24 may comprise a bar of parallel laterally spaced arcuate plates 25a with a transverse plate 25b interposed between these plates and the spring 19. The rod section 21 passes slidably between the plates 25:: and through an opening 22 in the arm 11. The size of the opening 22 is such as to permit the rod section 21 to move laterally of the railway car, i.e. longitudinally of the arm 11. Although the plate 25b may be welded to the spaced arcuate plate 25a, it may be desirable in certain instances for the plate 25b to be merely resiliently urged against the plates 25a by the spring 19. This arrangement will allow the coupling 18 to rock on the mounting plates 25a so as to maintain coaxial alignment of the rod section 21 and the rod 14.

The left end of the rod 15, as shown in FIGURE 3, is connected to the end of the arm 11 by a tensioned compression spring coupling 26 identical, in a general mirrorimage sense, to coupling 18. Clevis and eye connection 27 serves to interconnect the coupling 26 with the left end of the rod 15.

When the arm 11 is disposed as shown in FIGURE 3, i.e. perpendicular to the plane 5, the coil springs 19 of the couplings 18 and 26 are maintained in partial compression such that the rods 14 and 15 are tensioned. This partial compression of the springs of the connections 18 and 26 enables the left ends of the rods 14 and 15, as shown in FIGURE 3, to undergo axial movement relative to the arm 11 in opposite axial directions so as to accommodate for dimensional changes in the system as the arm 11 rotates about the pivot axis 12a.

As illustrated in FIGURE 3, rods 14 and 15 of first linkage means 13 converge away from truck 1 toward their connecting points with the arm 11. As shown in FIG- URE 4, arms 14 and 15 are coplanar and inclined downwardly away from their points of connection with the truck 1 so as to intersect the relatively lower disposed arm 11. The arm 11 is mounted so as to enable a linear connection between the arm 11 and the outer end 6a of the coupling bar 6.

Arm 11 is connected with the coupling end 6a of the coupling bar 6 by a pair of converging, mirror-image related, chain, turnbuckle, and compression spring assemblies 28 and 29 as schematically shown in FIGURE 3.

Assemblies 28 and 29 are identical. Thus, the description of one comprises a description of each. The assembly 28, for example, may include a short length of link chain 30, a turnbuckle 31, and a conventional compression spring connection 32. The left end of the chain 30 is connected to a bracket 33 mounted at the lower end of the outer portion 6a of the coupling bar 6. The right 6 end of the compression spring is secured by an eye 34 to an outer end of the arm 11. Turnbuckle 31, the presence of which is optional, serves to take the slack out of the assembly during installation.

It is contemplated that the assemblies 28 and 29 will be installed such that the springs 32 are partially com pressed so as to hold the chains 30 in tension. This arrangement of course will provide linkage means which are relatively rigid in tension so as to provide an effective force transmission between the arm 11 and the coupling bar 6.

The chains 311, being flexible in nature, accommodate for relative movement between the coupling bar 6 and the arm 11 caused by buff forces exerted on the bar 6. The springs 32 accommodate outward movement of the coupling bar 6 relative to the arm 11 induced by draft forces. In this connection, however, it will be understood that the maximum force exerted by the spring 32 should be such as to not adversely affect the shock absorbing and restoring characteristics of the draft mechanism 2.

As illustrated at the elevation view of FIGURE 4, the assembly 29 and 28 are coplanar and are inclined somewhat upwardly from their points of connection with the arm 11 to the coupling bar bracket 33. In this connection it will be appreciated that the vertical inclina tion of the bars 14 and 15 and the assemblies 28 and 29 in combination with the relatively low elevational disposition of the arm 11 enables the assemblies 28 and 29 to effectively clear a downwardly depending end 35 of the railway car.

As will thus be appreciated, assemblies 28 and 29 converge in a mirror-image fashion downwardly and away from opposite ends of the arm 11 toward the bracket 33 on the outer end of the coupling bar 6 and thus comprise second linkage means interconnecting the arm 11 with the coupling bar 6.

At this point it should be noted that the clevis connections 16, 17, 23 and 27 are oriented so as to allow lateral pivotable movement of the rods 14 and 15 relative to the truck 1 and the arm 11 sufficient to accommodate the lateral pivoting movement of the arm 11 or truck 1.

FIGURES 5 and 6 may be referred to for details of the mounting of the arm 11. Pivot mounting 12 comprises a generally U-shaped bracket 36 depending downwardly from the underside of the sill 8 as shown in FIG- URE 5. A generally rectangular bracket 37 is connected to, and depends beneath, the bracket 36 so as to define a laterally facing opening to receive the arm 11. Arm 11 is provided with a central bushing 38. A connecting pin 39 passes through the brackets 36 and 37 and the bushing 38 as generally shown in FIGURE 6 so as to secure the arm 11 for pivotable movement about the pivot axis 12a. The pivot axis 12a, of course, will be the center of the pivot pin 39.

Turning to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that each side of the arm 11 is provided with a plurality of apertures 22. Apertures 22 are larger in size than the diameter of the pins or rod section 21 of the couplings 18 and 26 so as to allow for lateral swinging movement of these pins within the apertures 22. The plurality of openings 22 enables the connecting rods 14 and 15 to be secured to selectively varied locations on the arm 11 to obtain differing degrees of movement of the arm 11 in response to pivotable movement of the truck 1 about the pivot axis 1a.

Turning now to the interconnection between the truck 1 and the arm 11, it will be appreciated that the rods 14 and 15 serve not only to transmit turning force from the truck 1 to the arm 11 but serve as Well to accelerate or multiply the pivoting of the truck 1 so as to cause the arm 11 to rotate to a greater extend than the arm 1.

This multiplication or acceleration of pivotable movement of the trucks 1 is a consequence of the convergence of the arms 14 and 15 away from their points of connection with the truck 1 to their points of connection with the arm 11. The greater the degree of convergence, the greater will be the multiplication effect.

As a safety factor one or more chains 49 may extend between the underside of the bed 8a of the railway car and each of the rods 14 and 15. In the event of the breakage of a rod, these chains 45) would serve to maintain a portion of the broken rod out of possible derailing engagement with a railway track. As will be apparent, there should be sutficient slack in the chains 39 to accommodate the lateral movement of the rods 14 and inherent in the operation of this invention.

Attainment of improved coupling through the invention In practice it has been found that automatic coupling on conventional railway tracks over a wide range of track curvatures may be obtained with the present invention where the arms 14 and 15 are converged so as to maintain the coupling bar within automatic coupling range on a curved track having the sharpest curvature encountered in the system. With this arrangement, when a railway car is disposed on a curved section of track as shown in FIG- URE 2, rotation of the truck 1 relative to the railway car body causes a greater degree of rotation of the arm 11. This greater or accelerated degree of rotation of the arm 11, effected by the relatively inflexible linkage means 14 and 15, is transmitted through the relatively flexible linkage means 23 and 29 to the coupling bar 6. The coaxial nature of the pivot axes 12a and 9a causes the bar 6 to rotate uniformly with the arm 11 such that the linkage means '28 and 2% function as non-accelerating, movement transmitting means. By knowing the track curvatures of a given system and by properly adjusting the geometry of the bars 14 and 15 of the movement accelerating means 13, the coupling end 2a of the draw bar 6 may be maintained within an allowable lateral tolerance of the track center line 10 sufficient to allow automatic coupling with the draw bar of another car.

In this connection it will be appreciated that the longitudinal displacement of the pivot axes 9a and 1a may be on the order of 10 or more feet and the draw bar may be several feet in length such that, without the movement accelerating action of the coupling 13, the coupling bar end 6a would not be maintained in automatic coupling position on a curved track so as to enable automatic coupling to take place.

As will be apparent, after cars have been coupled, it may be necessary for the coupling bar 6 to undergo rotational movement to an extent other than that which would result from the action of the coupling '13. When such movement necessities develop, the flexible nature of the chains and the compression absorbing action of the springs 32 of the assemblies 28 and 29 readily permit such movement to take place. In short, the assemblies 28 and 29 provide a yieldable, movement-transmitting connection between the cross arm 11 and the draw bar 6.

It should also be noted that the length of the assemblies 28 and 29 is but a fraction of the length of the rods 14 and 15. This fact, coupled with the fact that the chains 30 of the assemblies 28 and 29 comprise only a fractional portion of the length of these assemblies, insures that such sagging of these assemblies as might occur would be relatively inconsequential.

Summary of major advantages and scope of the invention A principal advantage of the invention resides in the movement accelerating mechanism 13 which causes the coupling bar of a railway car to turn more than the extent of turning of a railway car truck so as to accommodate for track curvature between the truck and the coupling bar.

Another advantage of the invention involves the particularly responsive action of the coupling bar aligning mechanism which results from structural characteristics of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus and in particular the use of the rigid bars 14 and 15 in the movement accelerating mechanism.

The highly desirable ability of the system to respond quickly to truck movement for coupling alignment purposes but accommodate movements between the draw bar and truck not induced by the alignment system are of particular consequence. This significant advantage results from the use of a relatively inflexible linkage in the accelerating mechanism and the use of a relatively flexible and resilient linkage in the movement transmitting mechanism.

The rigid character of the bars 14 and 15 prevent agging of these movement transmitting components so as to positively avoid fouling of elements of the apparatus on the running gear of the railway car. The relatively short length of the assemblies 28 and 29 insures that these components of the mechanism would not sag to any dangerous degree.

The overall apparatus, of course, provides a unique d gree of structural ruggedness and is quite adaptable to existing conventional structures without requiring extensive alterations or modifications. The use of the arm 11 and the movement accelerating and movement transmitting means provides a uniquely effective concept for effecting automatic coupling without adversely affecting the operating characteristic of the shock absorbing mechanism of a draft coupling.

As will be readily apparent, the dimensional and geometric arrangement of components shown in the drawings may be varied substantially while conforming to the spirit of the invention. Such modifications as well as other changes, additions, deletions, or substitutions of equivalents may readily occur to those skilled in the art and familiar with the disclosure of this invention and would fall within the purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars, said apparatus comprising:

railway car means;

track engaging wheel means;

first pivot mean mounting said wheel means on the underside of said railway car means; coupling means at one end of said railway car means adapted to couplingly engage another railway car;

second pivot means mounting said coupling means on said railway car means, said second pivot means and said first pivot mean having generally coplanar pivot axes with said second pivot means being displaced longitudinally of said first pivot means toward said one end of said railway car means;

connecting means interconnecting said wheel means and said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means whereby, when said railway car means is on a curved railway track extending from said wheel means at least to said coupling means, said coupling means will be maintained within a coupling range so as to enable said coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car, said connecting means including movement accelerating means connected with said wheel means, and movement transmitting means connecting said movement accelerating means with said coupling means; said movement accelerating means including:

arms means, third pivot means independent of said first and second pivot means but having a pivot axis parallel to the pivot axes of said first and second pivot means and pivotably connecting said arm means to the underside of said railway car means, and first linkage means extending between said wheel means and said arms means and 9. adapted to cause said arm means to rotate about said third pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means; and

said movement transmitting means including:

second linkage means interconnecting said arm means with said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said arm means about said third pivot means.

2. An apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars, said apparatus comprising:

railway car means; track engaging wheel means; first pivot means mounting said wheel means on the underside of said railway car means; coupling means at one end of said railway car means adapted to couplingly engage another railway car; second pivot means mounting said coupling means on said railway car means, said second pivot means and said first pivot means having generally coplanar pivot axes with said second pivot means being displaced longitudinally of said first pivot means toward said one end of said railway car means; connecting means interconnecting said wheel means and said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means whereby, when said railway car means is on a curved railway track extending from said wheel means at least to said coupling, said coupling means will be maintained within a coupling range so as to enable said coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car, said connecting means including movement accelerating means connected with said wheel means, and movement transmitting means connecting said movement accelerating means with said coupling means, said movement accelerating means including arm means, third pivot means independent of said first and second pivot means but having a pivot axis parallel to the pivot axes of said first and second pivot means and pivotably connecting said arm means to the underside of said railway car means, and first linkage means extending between said wheel means and said arm means and adapted to cause said arm means to rotate about said third pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotab'e movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means; said movement transmitting means including second linkage means interconnecting said arm means with said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said arm means about said third pivot means; and said first linkage means including a pair of rods extending between said wheel means and said arm means, said rods converging away from said wheel means toward said arm means and being symmetrically disposed with respect to a plane common to the pivot axes of said first and third pivot means when said coupling means is generally centered in relation to said plane. 3. An apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars, said apparatus comprising:

1Q railway car means; track engaging wheel means; first pivot means mounting said wheel means on the underside of said railway car means; coupling means at one end of said railway car means adapted to couplingly engage another railway car; second pivot means mounting said coupling means on said railway car means, said second pivot means and said first pivot means having generally coplanar pivot axes with said second pivot means having generally coplanar pivot axes with said second pivot means being displaced longitudinally of said first pivot means toward said one end of said railwa car means; connecting means interconnecting said wheel means and said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said Wheel means about said first pivot means Whereby, when said railway car means is on a curved railway track extending from said wheel means at least to said coupling means, said coupling means will be maintained within a coupling range so as to enable said coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car, said connecting means including movement accelerating means connected with said wheel means, and movement transmitting means connecting said movement accelerating means with said coupling means; said movement accelerating means including arm means, third pivot means independent of said first and second pivot means but having a pivot axis parallel to the pivot axes of said first and second pivot means pivotably connecting said arm means to the underside of said railway car means, and first linkage means extending between said wheel means and said arm means and adapted to cause said arm means to rotate about said third pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means; said movement transmitting means including second linkage means interconnecting said arm means with said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said arm means about said third pivot means; said first linkage means including a pair of rods extending between said wheel means and said arm means, said rods converging away from said wheel means toward said arm means and being symmetrically disposed with respect to a plane common to the pivot axes of said first and third pivot means when said coupling means is generally centered in relation to said plane; said pivot axes of said first, second and third pivot means being coplanar; said pivot axes of said second and third pivot means being coaxial; and said second linkage means including a pair of axially connected, chain and turnbuckle assembles extending between said arm means and said coupling means, said assemblies converging away from said arm means toward said coupling means and being symmetrically disposed with respect to said common plane of said pivot axes when said coupling means is generally centered with respect to said common plane.

4. An apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway cars, said apparatus comprising:

railway car means; track engaging wheel means; first pivot means mounting said wheel means on the underside of said railway car means; coupling means at one end of said railway car means adapted to couplingly engage another railway car; second pivot means mounting said coupling means on said railway car means, said second pivot means and said first pivot means having generally coplanar pivot axes with said second pivot means being displaced longitudinally of said first pivot means toward said one end of said railway car means; connecting means interconnecting said wheel means and said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate said second pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means whereby, when said railway car means is on a curved railway track extending from said wheel means at least to said coupling means, said coupling means will be maintained within a coupling range so as to enable said coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car, said connecting means including movementaccelerating means connected with said wheel means, and movement transmitting means connecting said movement accelerating means with said coupling means; said movement accelerating means including arm means, third pivot means independent of said first and second pivot means but having a pivot axis parallel to the pivot axes of said first and second pivot means and pivotally connecting said arm means to the underside of said railway car means, and first linkage means extending between said wheel means and said arm means and adapted to cause said arm means to rotate about said third pivot means in response to, but to a greater extent than, pivotable movement of said Wheel means about said first pivot means; said movement transmitting means including second linkage means interconnecting said arm means with said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said arm means about said third pivot means; said first linkage means including a pair of rods extending between said wheel means and said arm means, said rods converging away from said wheel means toward said arm means and being symmetrically disposed with respect to a plane common to the pivot axes of said first and third pivot means when said coupling means is generally centered in relation to said plane; said pivot axes of said first, second and third pivot means being coplanar; said pivot axes of said second and third pivot means being coaxial; and said secondlinkage means including a pair of axially connected, chain and turnbuckle assemblies extending between said arm means and said coupling means, said assemblies converging away from said arm means toward said coupling means and being symmetrically disposed with respect to said common plane of said pivot axes when said coupling means is generally centered with respect to said common plane;

each rod of said first linkage means being connected with resiliently and axially extensible means at one end thereof; and

said resiliently and axially extensible means asso ciated with each rod of said first linkage means exerting a tensioning force on its associated rod when the rods of said first linkage means are symmertically disposed with respect to said common plane, said tensioning permitting axial movement of said one end of each rod relative to its associated, resiliently and axially extensible means in each of opposite axial directions.

5. An apparatus as described in claim 4:

wherein the rods of said first linkage means extend downwardly from said wheel means toward said arm means;

wherein said assemblies of said second linkage means extend upwardly from said arm means toward said coupling means; wherein said resiliently and axially extensible means of each rod of said first linkage means is mounted on said arm means and supported therein so as to remain in axial alignment with its associated rod as it moves in response to movement of said wheel means;

wherein said wheel means includes a railway truck body having at least a pair of apertures disposed on opposite lateral sides of said truck; and

wherein said apparatus further includes securing means for attaching each of said rods of said first linkage means to said wheel means, each said securing means including clevis and eye means connected with an end of a rod opposite to the end of the rod connected with a resiliently and axially extensible means, and a connecting link having two spaced and coplanar webs, with one of said Webs being secured within an aperture of the railway truck body of said wheel means and the other of said webs being connected with said clevis and eye means.

6. An apparatus to facilitate the coupling of railway devices comprising railway car means, track engaging wheel means, first pivot means mounting said wheel means on the underside of said railway car means, coupling means at one end of said railway car means adapted to couplingly engage another railway car, and second pivot means mounting said coupling means on said railway car means, said apparatus comprising:

connecting means interconnecting said wheel means and said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means whereby, when said railway car means is on a curved railway track extending from said wheel means at least to said coupling means, said coupling means will be maintained Within a coupling range so as to enable said coupling means to couplingly engage another railway car, said connecting means including movement inducing means connected with said wheel means, said movement inducing means including arm means; third pivot means independent of said first and second pivot means and pivotally connecting said arm means to the underside of said railway car means; first linkage means extending between said wheel means and said arm means and adapted :to cause said arm means to rotate about said third pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said wheel means about said first pivot means; and movement transmitting means connecting said movement inducing means with said coupling means, said movement transmitting means including second linkage means interconnecting said arm means With said coupling means to cause said coupling means to rotate about said second pivot means in response to pivotable movement of said arm means about said third pivot means. 7. An apparatus as described in claim 6:

wherein said movement inducing means comprises rela- 1O tively inflexible first linkage means; and wherein said movement transmitting means comprises second relatively flexible linkage means.

8. An apparatus as described in claim 7 wherein said first and said second linkage means are resiliently tensioned.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 900,259 9/1908 Krakau 21315 1,025,522 5/1912 Forsyth 21315 3,255,891 6/1966 Cope 213-19 3,283,916 11/1966 Cope 21315 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner. 

